


Different Sides

by peeka_boo



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - World War II, Ambiguous/Open Ending, China is mistaken for a girl, M/M, Orphans, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-22 08:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8279002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peeka_boo/pseuds/peeka_boo
Summary: Yao Wang is the eldest among his four siblings; Kiku Honda is the general of a regiment in the Japanese army. When crossing through China and deciding to take a rest in the countryside, Commander Kiku meets a mysterious charming lady and falls head over heels in love with her, and she seems to reciprocates the affection. Sadly, with their countries at war, and her’s on the losing side, it seems they just can’t be together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hong Kong - Xiang Gang (age: 17)  
> Taiwan - Mei (age: 16)  
> S. Korea - Im Yong Soo (age: 18)  
> N. Korea - Im Hyung Soo (age: 18)  
> China - Yao Wang (age: 21)  
> Japan - Kiku Honda (age: 20)
> 
> I hope this isn't too bad of a start, reviews would be appreciated so I can know what to improve!

It was a relevantly peaceful day in the countryside of Henan during the Japanese invasion of China in World War II. Well, as close to peaceful as it could get with the constant threat of the Japanese descending upon them at any day, place, or time.

Yao Wang, eldest of his four siblings, Xiang Gang, Im Yong Soo, Im Hyung Soo, and Mei, was checking on the crop they grew on their small farm. Their lives were faring pretty well since the early death of their parents the past winter due to fever and cold.

While evaluating the condition of their crops, Yao gave a depressed sigh; being the oldest, he was now in charge of their household since the passing of their mother and father and it had been quite rough on him. He hadn’t a moment’s rest in his task to continue to cultivate the plants so that they would be able to provide for themselves; as well as making sure his siblings didn’t overwork themselves by placing all the work upon his head. From daybreak to when the sun set, he went from task to task, doing everything to the best of his ability.

At daybreak, he would go out to feed the chickens and rooster that crowed to mark the beginning of a new day. A hurried but delicious breakfast was made for his siblings to enjoy while he was out. He checked on the wheat and millet, as those were planted the closest to their humble home. From there, he would water and fertilize the sprouts, praying that they would be ready to harvest as soon as winter came; (It was around early summer) then he would move on to the soybeans, corn, sweet potatoes, and rice. Around this point in his schedule, he would occasionally visit the market to buy food for his family’s noonday meal. Once he returned home, he would be greeted warmly by his siblings, or more likely, Yong Soo.

“Aniki! You finally returned, Daze~!” Yong Soo screamed as he glomped his elder brother lovingly.

“Get off of him, Yong Soo!” “Can’t you see he’s tired and have groceries to put away?” Mei shouted as she tried to wrangle him off of her struggling brother.

“Gege, you must be tired, no?” Xiang Gang asked with his usual monotone voice. But after living with him all these years, Yao recognized the faint undertone of concern within his stoic brother’s voice.

“Yes, let me help you carry those bags to the kitchen,” offered his other brother, Im Hyung Soo, the older twin to Yong Soo, with the almost exact opposite personality, quiet and antisocial.

Yao shrugged his packages off as Mei finally succeeded in removing Yong Soo, who was now grumbling in the corner.

Even though their family was quite disorganized, Yao loved them with all his heart and embraced their flaws wholeheartedly.

“What am I going to do with all of you, aru?” He asked playfully, grinning. “I know, how about after lunch, you guys can help me weed and water the crop again?”  
Leaping at any chance to help their overworking brother, all five of his siblings responded with a cheerful “Hao!”

“Aniki……” Yong Soo’s voice broke through the concentrated silence as they all pulled the weeds from the land where they planted their crops. “I’m hungry again……” He continued whining.

“Nonsense aru, you had the biggest bowl of rice out of all of us!” Yao exclaimed, “But Aniki!” Yong Soo whined again, “I worked so hard that shouldn’t I get some extra food as compensation daze~?”

“Yong Soo!” Mei reprimanded, “you’ve worked the least out of all of us so far, and now you’re complaining that you’re hungry?” “Unbelievable!”

“You’re so mean to me Mei…”

“I’m just looking at the truth, humph.”

“Aiyaa... How about this you guys,” Yao was quick to stop the argument that was about to unfold, “after we finish the next field, I’ll come home with you to make you all some sweets aru! Sugar is limited but I’m sure I can make some sweet buns none the less, aru!”

Now fueled with the promise of sweets after they complete their task, the mood was lifted and a pleasant conversation made itself present among them. Even Xiang Gang and Hyung Soo seemed to be in better spirits.

After returning to their house, Yao started gathering ingredients to make the sweet buns he promised his siblings. After he made the dough he let them fill theirs with whatever they wanted, from taking out their sweet red bean paste and making fresh egg yolk custard. They then spent the time talking with each other, the atmosphere cheerful and sweet; and Yao was able to forget about the endless list of things he needed to complete and relaxed and just enjoyed his time with the remainder of his family.

That night, after making a simple dinner, since they were already filled with sweets, Yao helped them wash and bathe by hauling water from a nearby well and heating it over a fire. With help from his siblings of course, they knew that Yao was overworking himself and were willing to do anything that may help him.

When everyone was comfortable upon their beds in the single room they all shared, it was too lonely otherwise, they whispered and giggled to each other a while, happy and carefree for the first time in what seemed like forever. The war raging just outside their doorstep seemed nonexistent and they were only focused on the present with each other, convinced they were going to get through no matter what happened and that the future was bright for all of them.

"Sleep tight everyone aru."

"Good night Aniki! Daze~"

"Shut up Yong Soo!"

"Meeeeiiiiii, why are you so mean to me?"

"Please be quiet you two aru! Tomorrow's going to be very busy aru and I don't want to fall asleep in the rice patty fields again!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA that was the best thing ever Aniki daze~!"

"Can you guys be quiet or do I have to shoot a firecracker at you again."

"Aiyaa... Xiang Gang, EVERYONE GO TO SLEEP NOW ARU OR NO ONE GETS BREAKFAST BESIDES HYUNG SOO!"

"Aniki's so mean daze~"

"Let's just go to sleep now, I'm so tired aru"

"Alright, we go to sleep now for Aniki daze~"  
"Good night everyone daze~"

"Good night Yong Soo idiot"

"I'll feed you two to the chickens tomorrow aru, I swear"

"But chickens don't eat meat do they daze~"

"Sigh, good night aru, I give up"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiku finally meets Yao, under the belief that he is a woman...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Kiku is a little OOC in this chapter, his personality was a bit hard to write into this plot.

Commander Kiku was at the head of his regiment, being one of the Emperor’s best soldiers had its perks as he was allowed a week off duty to “survey” the nearby Chinese countryside. So far at the moment, he could do anything he wanted and not worry about any of his superiors reprimanding him later, and because much of the north-western side was conquered, he didn’t have to worry about being disrespected by the people there. Henan seemed like a peaceful place to start, and there weren’t as many soldiers dispatched there so he could fully enjoy his time alone.

After arriving in the countryside, the first thing Kiku noticed was how the air was fresher than that that circulated in town. The smell of fresh grass and undertone of manure helped clear his mind and allowed his muscles to relax after holding them in standard military fashion for so long. 

He felt as if he could maybe even enjoy himself here.

Being the over-achiever that he was, he understood and spoke fluent Chinese, both Mandarin and Cantonese; so it was highly unlikely that he was going to be called out for being Japanese, besides maybe the few differenced between their looks, however, it was never that noticeable. He also went the extra mile to wear casual clothes instead of his usual military uniform. Kiku had to admit, it was slightly thrilling and freeing to be there.

He started down the unpaved dirt road leading to the few farms that occupied the area, admiring the scenery and even letting a small smile slip onto his usually emotionless face.

The breeze was refreshing, there were a few farmers in the distance, and Kiku had never felt so peaceful in his life. 

On the less reasonable side of his mind, after letting go of his military persona when he entered the peace and quiet, he decided to go and see what a group of the native residents were doing, being able to pick up a faint conversation being delicately carried along the wind.

“Aiyaa, Xiang Gang, how did you mix up the weeds with the carrots!? They look completely different aru, look!”

“I’m sorry Gege, I got confused”

“I can see that aru!”

“Hey Aniki! Look at how many weeds I got, daze~. I totally beat Hyung right?!”

“…”

“You idiot Yong Soo! You also confused them!”

“Sigh, aru….”

Walking in the direction of the voices, Kiku happened upon what appeared to be a small family weeding a small portion of their crop, carrots, if he heard correctly. They were all dressed very casually, their trousers smeared with dirt and mud and the traditional sunhat upon most of their heads. From what he could tell so far, there were two girls and three boys but he couldn’t get a clear profile of their faces from the distance.

“I think you guys have helped enough aru! Go home and leave the rest of the weeding to me!”

“But Aniki! We just wanted to help!”

“You guys can help me by feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs alright, aru?”

“Alright everyone, let us go and help Aniki with the chickies daze~!”

Kiku arrived at the border of the gardens just as the others dashed in the direction of their home. The remaining woman turned around and caught a glance at him.

“Oh! Who are you aru?” Yao exclaimed, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around these parts”

“I’m new around here, my family just moved from our old village since the Japanese occupied the territory,” Kiku lied smoothly; being part of the military had taught him that, sometimes, telling a lie could result in more favorable results than telling the truth in certain circumstances.

“Well, if that’s so,” she turned around fully, “I would be happy to show you around sometime aru!” And then she smiled the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life. It was breathtaking, he had never witnessed something so beautiful in all his life.

Now that Kiku took all of her in, he saw that she was slim and more on the lanky side, her hair wasn’t very long and was held in a simple ponytail over the shoulder, her hair looked so silky that Kiku now found himself wondering how it would feel to just run his digits through those chocolate brown locks. Her eyes were a beautiful amber brown that just sparkled with life, portraying her every emotion within them. Her voice was also delicate and airy, with a rough undertone, the speech tic adding a unique touch. He was convinced that she was the epitome of perfection, an angel above all the rest. 

“um, I was wondering if you could help me, my parents actually died on the way here and I was supposed to find my aunt, but I don’t seem to know where she lives.”

“Oh, that is quite unfortunate aru” her face suddenly saddened, “my own parents died of the cold last winter and I was left to fend for my siblings.”

“I am so sorry for your loss.”

“I-It’s fine aru” she rubbed one of her eyes with a dirty hand, “how about you stay with us for a while, until you find your aunt at least, I’m sure you’ll be welcome and I could always use an extra hand around here ” Yao smiled brightly.

“Yes, that would be great”

Kiku followed Yao back to the house, smiling as they walked alongside each other, Yao entertaining him with stories of their childhood and all the trouble his siblings used to get in.


	3. Chapter 3

Kiku was always a prodigy child, raised in a prestigious family in favor to the emperor and earning the highest marks in everything he participated in. He was quite the silent child when growing up and wasn’t very close to anyone, having been raised by his nursemaids because his parents had been too busy to care for him. His childhood wasn’t the best, despite what the public thought, and that had him working to exceed all his limits and maybe gain a bit of respect from the parents that never took a second glance at him unless he did well in his studies. He was able to skip many years in school and graduated at the young age of seventeen with honors in every subject. Shortly after his graduation, with increasing pressure from his family and influence from the emperor, he joined the military and managed to rise to the rank of commander within two years. The Emperor, after seeing his excelling history, kept him close to “supervise” him and make sure he didn’t stray.

Kiku finally managed to escape the grasps of the Emperor and admitted himself into active duty to see the outside of the small world he grew up in. Survival was only a second concern seeing he had been locked in all his life and never permitted to even step foot outside his home without a guard, despite being a well-known commander himself.

The outside of the world was more than he could’ve ever imagined, the seaside was refreshing, the splash of the ocean waves and caw of the seabirds was just like he had read in the books within his father’s library.

The cities within the mainland of China were a bit crowded, but quaint; he was sure they would have contained more people had they not entered through the main route into the town…

So many places he had never seen and he could never have been happier.

Despite mainly admitting himself into active duty to see the outside world, he still had to fight for his country in the seemingly endless war of bloodshed and agony. His training to get as far as he had had him massacring many lines of enemy soldiers and claiming more of the mainland for their little island nation. Their screams no longer rang in his ears after he freed the soul of his enemy for the reaper to collect, he never expressed much emotion and that made him an even more feared soldier to the simple and ordinary townspeople of the quaking nation. Despite Japan being a small nation, the amount of firepower was enough to overwhelm the bigger and older nation's defense lines and he knew he was just another pond for the Emperor to use in the large-scale game of chess, but his honor and position were all too valuable and in order to maintain his position, he had no choice but to heed to the Emperor's every command.

He never felt truly proud of his accomplishments as they were at the expense of other people's lives, whether or not they were his enemies or fellow soldiers, he had a role to carry out and would do his best in any field he was admitted in. This was his moral, and he hardly kept count of how many people he killed, how many he executed, how many he murdered, it was always the same in the end, after all, it was war. The blood of his enemies was no longer a hindrance as when he first started out, being the emotionless enigma he was, he, Kiku Honda, would only bend in the face of his Emperor.

Even through all the blood he was forced to shed, there was a shred of emotion within him that yearned for freedom, for the countries to live in peace and for him to do with his life whatever he wanted, to possibly explore the impossible dreams he harbored at night instead of being trapped within a harsh reality with no choice.

It was sad that he eventually had to come back to the small closed in world he grew up in.

But his country was always first, he would live to serve for his country, and consequently, die for it as well.

Though his leave was short and he was eventually beckoned back to the Emperor’s side, Kiku made it a dream of his to revisit the wonderfully wide world he just newly discovered, even if it took until the war was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the beginning. I'm just going to leave it here, please don't be too disappointed. I don't really have any idea how to continue...


End file.
